As an example, dirt and aggregate road surfaces may be adversely affected by weather and time. Specifically, exposure to various extreme weather conditions, such as temperature changes, precipitation, etc. may affect the quality of a dirt and aggregate road surface. Further, exposure to traffic may cause accelerated degradation of road surfaces. For example, improperly stabilized road surfaces may be subject to the formation of potholes, wash-boarding, frost-boils, dry weather flaking, wet weather leaching, erosion, as some examples. Moreover, use of such dirt and aggregate roads may result in loss of road bed material and high levels of dust being created.
Various compositions and products have been used on road surfaces in an attempt to minimize the effect of use and weather on such road surfaces and improve the durability and quality of the road surfaces.
Examples of dust suppressants and soil stabilizers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,001,033; 4,571,116; 4,737,305; 4,801,635; 5,084,207; 5,412,007; and 5,824,725, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
However, many of these products provide only short-term relief from the above-described conditions. Additionally, some of the products require frequent reapplication due to the loss of product on the road from traffic and/or weather conditions. For example, rainy weather may result in erosion of the products. Moreover, a wet winter may result in the leaching of the products, and products can thereby introduce contaminants into the local environment. Other issues in regards to current products include the stability and cost of the products. In some instances, the products may become unstable during storage and require remixing or other conditioning. Further, many of the known products become unstable over time. Another issue is a higher cost of the product. Further, there is waste of non-food grade soy product in the soy industry.